


Dragon's Price

by CommonNonsense



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, everything's really just hinted at here, sorry loves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 15:04:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7578736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommonNonsense/pseuds/CommonNonsense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The dragons are vicious, powerful, and beautiful, but summoning them takes a toll on the summoner's body. While pinned down by waves and waves of omnics, Hanzo is asked again and again to bring the dragons, despite McCree's and Genji's protests.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dragon's Price

**Author's Note:**

> An anonymous prompt from Tumblr, paraphrased: the Shimada dragons require a lot of energy to summon, and the team asks him to summon them too often and it nearly kills him on the battlefield. Genji is pissed, and so is McCree.

“Again, Hanzo. Now, before they spread!”

McCree has spent the last half-hour flanking for Hanzo, and he can see the exhausted grimace on the archer’s face as the command comes in over their comms. This will be the third time he’s had to summon the dragons, twice at 76’s order. But the omnics keep coming, and aside from Tracer’s rapidly-dwindling supply of pulse bombs, they have nothing else that can pick off the large, impenetrable waves. Hanzo takes a short moment to breathe, then nocks an arrow, growls his summons out between gritted teeth, and fires. The dragons streak across the battlefield, beautiful twists of shocking blue, and leave a sea of rended omnics in their wake. 

They had thought the old military base was near empty, save for a few Talon agents looking to repurpose it for their own use. When Overwatch arrived, they were greeted with a veritable army of omnics and Talon agents.  They had hoped to retake the compound, but they had killed dozens of the bots without any signs that the attack would relent. The dragons are cutting wide swatches in the flood, but Hanzo is clearly unable to maintain the pace.

“You can’t keep pushing my brother this way,” Genji says, robotic voice crackling on the comm. McCree peers across the field and sees the metallic form of Genji atop a ridge, surveying the landscape as he speaks. The immediate vicinity is clear for now, but who knows how long it will last. “Summoning the dragons takes a lot of energy. They are not meant to be used like this.” McCree looks up at Hanzo and has to agree--Hanzo has lowered his bow and bowed his head, looking visibly pained. He presses the heel of his palm against his chest, rubbing against his sternum as though soothing away an invisible pain. 

“I have to agree there,” McCree says. “He’s not looking too good up there. We should start thinkin’ about evac.”

“I am fine,” Hanzo interjects. McCree can hear the weariness over the comm and from the man nearby. “We cannot allow this base to stay in Talon’s hands.”

“Hanzo, you ain’t fine, you’re--”

“We aren’t allowing them to have this base,” 76 growls. “You can all worry about being tired when this mission is finished.”

McCree sees Genji slide down the side of the ledge, shurikens in hand. “This could kill him!” Genji protests hotly. “There’s a reason we don’t use them for every mission!”

“Morrison, we ain’t gonna win this one,” McCree says, watching as Hanzo sways slightly on his feet. He hears a mechanical whirr behind him and barely looks as he empties the last two bullets in the chamber into the omnic. Hanzo gives a shake of his head, nocks an arrow, and hits another omnic neatly between its artificial eyes as though to prove that he is still capable. McCree grits his teeth. “Hanzo, don’t push yourself. You ain’t any good to us dead.”

“None of you will be any good then, because if you don’t finish clearing them out, you’ll all be dead!”

“Seventy-Six, you cannot--”

“Luvs, I hate to interrupt,” Tracer says, “but they’re coming back and there’s a lot of them.” She blinks into existence next to McCree and points across the field, already littered with omnic bodies. Sure enough, another wave is mounting, charging toward the team.

“My surveillance indicates that this group is the last,” Winston adds. He is nowhere near the battle, instead far away in Gibraltar, surveying from his station. “If you can make one more push and clear them out, the base will be empty and we can secure it from there.” 

Tracer bites her lip. “I’ve only got two bombs left. I can do some damage, but I can’t take out that many. I’m sorry, luv, but I need help.”

“It may be our only shot,” Winston adds grimly. “We may not be able to come back if we don’t clear it now, and Hanzo is our best shot.”

Mercy glides down to land beside McCree and Tracer. Genji is still a ways out in the field and 76 is, presumably, out there as well. She looks uncertain as she watches Hanzo slide down from his ledge and stumble. 

“I am here if something goes wrong,” she says. “But I’m not familiar with the Shimada dragons. Genji may be--”

“I am not a  _ child, _ ” Hanzo snaps suddenly, glaring over his shoulder at the gathered teammates. “I will do as I am commanded. If I am asked to summon them again, I will.”

The final wave of omnics is rapidly approaching. McCree reloads Peacemaker, his eyes never leaving Hanzo. Everyone else is listening as 76 relays a battle plan, so McCree is the only one that sees the fine tremor in Hanzo’s hand as he reaches for an arrow. 

“Be careful, Hanzo,” he murmurs, before 76 gives the order to move out. “I like you better alive than dead.”

The look Hanzo shoots him is a mix of prideful disdain edged with worry.

The plan is simple: release the dragons down the middle of the wave, have Tracer deposit her last two pulse bombs among the halved omnics, and pick off the rest as they come. McCree watches, in awe as always, as Hanzo summons the dragons yet again. The ethereal beasts speed off, ripping through the center of the omnic wave as though there were nothing in their paths. 

“Tracer, move!” 76 orders, and Tracer blinks out of sight with a twinkle of blue. 76 himself appears just in time to lead the charge, and the team sprints out. McCree glances back to make sure Hanzo is coming, only to see that Hanzo has dropped to one knee, bow on the ground beside him.

“Hanzo!” he calls, already doubling back. Hanzo snaps his gaze up.

“Finish the mission,” he says between labored breaths.

“But--”

“I am fine! Finish this!”

McCree hears an explosion, followed by the sound of metal parts raining against the dirt. With great reluctance, he turns and follows the others. 

The clean-up is easy, and no more omnics follow. One by one, the remaining omnics are shot down, their metal corpses joining the dozens of others. For the first time in what feels like days, the field falls silent. 

“Good job, team,” 76 says, letting his pulse rifle drop. “Winston, send the evac and--”

“Hanzo’s vital signs have dropped,” Mercy interrupts. There’s a rare tremor in the steadfast doctor’s voice. “Where is he? Did he not come with us?” She turns back in the direction they came. A hundred feet away, Hanzo’s silhouette is collapsed on the ground, unmoving. 

McCree is sprinting before Mercy even spreads her wings.

Genji springs ahead, robotic limbs surging at an unmatched pace. Mercy is close behind, carried by the wings of her Valkyrie suit, but she still is several feet away when Genji reaches his brother. McCree is among the last to arrive at the scene, and when he does, Genji’s voice is the first he hears. 

“I told you that this was dangerous,” he’s hissing as he rolls Hanzo onto his back. “The dragons take a toll on our bodies when summoned. Doing so repeatedly can kill us!”

“Genji--” Mercy starts, reaching for Hanzo, but Genji slaps away her hands. When he sees the rest of the team, he stands and heads straight for 76.

“You did this!” he shouts, masked face inches from 76’s own. “I warned you! Your selfish desires may result in the death of my brother and it’s your fault!” He looks between Tracer and McCree, his gaze settling on the former. “And you encouraged him!”

76 says nothing, a perfect picture of stoicism. Tracer is visibly guilty, running both hands through her hair as she looks away.

McCree holds his hands up, placating. “Alright partner,” he says, low and careful, “not sayin’ I don’t agree with you here, but you gotta let us take a look. He ain’t dead yet.” He glances down at Hanzo; the man’s breathing is shallow and rapid, and McCree’s gut twists painfully. 

Genji clenches his fists, then gives a single, sharp nod. “You and Mercy,” he says. “Nobody else.”

McCree kneels on the cold ground at Hanzo’s side. Hanzo’s skin is pale and a cold sweat has broken out on his brow; his breath comes quickly between parted lips. Mercy kneels on the opposite side and pulls up a holographic chart from a device on her wrist. “Tachycardia,” she says. “Low O2 sat, rapid respiration. It’s like he’s going into cardiogenic shock.” She presses two fingers to the inside of Hanzo’s bare left wrist, then shakes her head. “Barely a pulse.”

The terms fly right over McCree’s head. Annoyed, he demands, “What in the hell does that all mean?”

“It means that I have to get him stable right now.” Mercy dismisses her display and starts digging into her supplies, speaking rapidly. “Winston, I need that evac right now. Have the med bay prepped for Hanzo’s arrival.”

“On it,” Winston replies. “Evac shuttle is en route. ETA two minutes.”

“Thank you, Winston.” Now that she’s in the thick of it, Mercy is calm and collected, every bit the reliable doctor. She pulls out two small bionic modules the size of thimbles and a syringe, then shoves the modules at McCree. “Jesse, place these. One on each side of his chest, activate them simultaneously. Now.”

McCree fumbles to obey. His fingers feel too heavy and clumsy for the modules, but he manages to place them properly and press the buttons. They glow with a warm, pulsing yellow light, highlighting Hanzo’s clammy skin in gold. Angela slips the needle into the back of his wrist with practised ease, discards the syringe, and pulls up her display again. 

After a tense moment, she says, “He’s stable, for now. But I want him back in my bay right now.”

McCree lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Genji stares down Tracer and 76, his body language more threatening than any glare could be. When the shuttle comes, he picks up Hanzo in his arms and carries him, alone.

 

\--

 

The shuttle ride back to Gibraltar is tense, but blessedly swift. Hanzo remains in stable condition throughout and is immediately transported to the med bay, overseen by Mercy. Tracer moves to follow, but Genji throws out an arm to block her path and stares until she backs away. McCree, however, is permitted to visit the med bay, and he shoots Tracer an apologetic look as he follows Genji.

Hanzo has remained stable, Mercy reports, and should improve within a couple of days with rest. After reporting, she requests to talk to Genji in her office, which leaves McCree sitting alone at Hanzo’s bedside. 

Hanzo has visibly improved. The color is back in his skin, and his breathing is deep and even. Still, he is tired and worn. An IV has been placed in the back of his hand, feeding drugs into his system. His clothes are disheveled and his hair has half-fallen from its customary ribbon, strands scattered over his face. 

“I told you to be careful,” McCree sighs, kicking his boots up on a plastic crate undoubtedly full of medical supplies. He stares up at the ceiling. “Idiot. I told you. I told them, too, but Morrison never liked listenin’ once he had an idea in his head.”

He wants a cigarillo, but if he even thinks of lighting up in here, Mercy will kill him. Instead, he tips his hat down on his head and slouches in his seat. As he watches Hanzo, unconscious and unresponsive as he has been for two hours, something tightens in his chest that he doesn’t want to examine too much. 

“I’ll tell you what,” he says to the ceiling, “if you’d gone ahead and died on me that early, I would’ve dragged you back from Hell just to kill you myself.”

Hanzo doesn’t respond. It’s probably for the best. 

McCree sighs again, pushing all thoughts of Hanzo’s death from his mind. It didn’t happen, he reminds himself. He will be just fine after a bit of rest. He looks over again, and before he can stop himself, reaches out a hand to brush Hanzo’s bangs out of his eyes. 

The door to Mercy’s office slides open. Genji steps out, silent. McCree yanks his hand back but it’s clearly too late. But, instead of tearing him a new one for touching his brother in a clearly affectionate way, he says, “Thank you for taking care of him.”

McCree, left off-kilter by the response, is left without words for a moment before getting out, “Yeah. ‘Course.”

Genji nods and steps out of the med-bay. Outside, Tracer is still waiting--McCree can see through the window as she leaps to her feet and follows after Genji. She’s likely going to spend the rest of the night apologizing. McCree settles back into his chair. 

“Yeah,” he murmurs, resting his head back. “‘Course I’ll take care of him.”


End file.
